Your house has dangers lurking in every corner! Learn how to Baby Proof your home in 5 easy steps. BabyProofing is really not as hard or as daunting as you may think!
Congratulations on your baby reaching their early milestones of movement! You have surpassed the Colic Stage, the teething nightmare is winding down, and are now probably a master at preventing diaper leaks! What a relief am I right?
This is a magical time and one you will want to cherish. Because they zoom through this stage so quickly. There is just something so beautiful about your child learning to be mobile and explore and learn.
With a more mobile baby, you may also be thinking about saying Bye Bye Binky, getting ready to introduce table foods, and looking for great ways to save on diapers.
Yet, in order to truly cherish these moments of your child’s newfound milestones of movement, there is one crucial action you need to take. Now is the time to ensure your home is safe. No parent can have their eyes trained on baby 100% of the time 24/7.
I mean, you DO want a bathroom break in the day right? There will be moments when your baby won’t have Mom’s Eagle Eyes zeroed in on them every second of every day.
To save your sanity (and possibly your bladder) while also protecting your baby, ensure you are ready for these moments with adequate babyproofing.
That is why I am here to help you know how to baby proof your home in 5 easy steps. For a first time Mom, or even an experienced mom who is having a new baby after a space of time; this can be overwhelming and you may not know where to start.
Don’t worry, I have you covered. I am all about making everything as simple as possible. There is no need to baby proof your entire home if your baby isn’t going to be in every single room! So I will focus on the basics of how to baby proof your home. To be efficient yet also effective!
Let’s get started!
How to Baby Proof effectively
There are 5 easy steps to baby proof your home. If you check off each of these 5 steps, your home will be a safe haven for your peace of mind and your newly mobile baby.
Stairs: One of the most dangerous areas of any home is the stairs. It is far too easy for a child to get too close to the opening and fall down the stairs. Or to be curious and climb, slip and fall. These injuries could be very serious. So always secure the stairs.
One of the most common mistakes parents make is thinking that a simple pressure-mounted baby gate is sufficient. But these gates are actually only designed for the bottom of the stairs to prevent baby from climbing UP the stairs.
With the right amount of pressure/leverage or simply pushing on it in the right spot, the baby gate easily slips and comes down. If this gate is at the top of the stairs…now baby and gate are tumbling down the stairs together. OUCH.
If you use pressure-mounted gates, only use them in hallways/doorways or at the bottom of the stairs. NEVER at the top of the stairs.
For the top of the stairs, make sure your gate states it is specifically a Top of Stairs Gate. One that actually screws into the wall or more permanently attaches to the banister. These won’t come loose when baby decides to shake/push/or pull on them. They are secure and the only safe option for the top of the stairs.
You can also block off the stair area completely by using pressure mounted gates in the hallwall that leads to the stairs. Or with a retractable baby gate that blocks off the area.
Lock Cabinets/Drawers: My mom spent a lot of time cooking meals for our family. So I was right there with her. Thus one of my favorite pastimes was pulling all the pans out of the cupboard and climbing in to use it as my secret hideout in the kitchen. We also did this with the cupboard that held all of the serving bowls, etc.
As a mom myself, I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen. And yes, my children have always been right there with me. And yes, they all love to empty the lower cupboards and climb in! Or just play with the pots and pans!
This is just a normal child behavior. It lets them be creative, roleplay, and use their imagination while being near Mom.
But there are many areas of the kitchen that are dangerous. Such as the knife drawer or the cupboard under the sink or any lower cupboard that stores glass dishes/baking pans, etc. These areas should have a safety measure to stop your baby from getting into the danger zones of the kitchen.
- Use Drawer locks to stop baby from opening drawers
- Add cupboard locks to prevent baby from getting into dangerous cupboards
- Attach a fridge/freezer lock
- Use stove-knob covers to keep your child from turning the burners off and on.
- Add a lock to prevent baby from getting into the pantry and accidentally getting locked inside. Or to keep baby out to prevent a large mess. You’ve most likely seen the pictures/videos of baby spreading flour/cornstarch all over the house. Yeah, you want to prevent that by locking off the pantry.
Depending on the type of pantry door you have, you have various options to lock it.
You don’t have to lock every single cupboard and drawer. That can be expensive and a little frustrating as you try to work in the kitchen. Only worry about the drawers or cupboards that pose a risk for your child. Let the others stay, so your child can explore their imagination.
Get on your Knees: When you get on your knees, you are able to see the world from a completely different perspective. This is about the height of your child. You will see things that are accessible to them from their perspective.
This means that cute vase on the end table next to the couch is fair game for your little one! If you can see it, so can they! If you can touch it, you better believe your child will be playing with it!
So while you are on your knees, look around the room. Do you see anything that is within reach that you don’t want your child to touch or play with? Then move it up!
Either find a new home for items or move them higher and out of reach of your mobile child. Move breakable items to a higher shelf or out of the room completely. Medicine should all be in a high cupboard with a lock.
If the furniture features a prime climbing design, make sure it securely anchored to the wall. Actually, you should be using furniture anchors with all your furniture anyway, in case of an earthquake, etc. But especially if you have a mobile child. They love to climb and could easily pull the furniture on top of themselves.
Cover electronics: If your home is anything like mine, you probably have wires/cords exposed. I mean, you can’t thread that lamp power cord through the table and have it magically plugged into the outlet, am I right? There are just some things that will be there because it’s how your home is designed.
You can’t be 100% baby proofed. It’s not possible. A TV still needs to reach an outlet. And not all homes are blessed with a magical outlet high on the wall next to the TV mount. Most outlets are down near the floor well within baby’s reach.
In order to protect your baby, yet still have a functional and enjoyable home you can easily make adjustments.
- Cover all outlets that aren’t being used with outlet covers.
- Use powerstrip cases to keep little fingers from pulling the cords out, or sticking things into the power strip, or even turning it on and off via the power switch.
- Secure excess cords. If your cord is long and there is plenty of extra, secure it with a cord wrap so it doesn’t become a chew toy or new jump rope, or choking hazard for your baby.
- Cord Sleeve to hide cords
- Cord Shortener to wrap up an excess cord. This is also important for any blind cords around the windows.
- Cord Keeper to cover the covers.
- Move game consoles out of reach, or put a barrier between it and your child’s fingers. Unless you want broken game consoles.
Make non-babyproofed areas inaccessible:
It is not feasible for you to affordably baby proof every inch of your home. Instead, focus solely on the areas where your baby will reside the most. Such as their own bedroom, the play area, the family area where you gather for movies and family time. The kitchen/dining area, etc. For all the other rooms make them inaccessible.
A great way to block off areas that are not a baby-friendly zone is with doorknob locks. This way, you can simply close the door and your child can’t access the room.
Your other children will love this, as it will keep the baby out of their bedrooms and out of their stuff.
Also, use this for bathrooms, doors that exit the home or go to the garage, laundry room, other bedrooms, etc. Just close those rooms off to the mobile baby. These rooms shouldn’t be their unsupervised playground anyway.
Use large baby yard gates to partition off sections of the rooms where the baby will reside. Such as positioning a large gate around the entertainment center in the family/TV room. It’s not feasible to keep your child out of the most common areas of the house that you all spend time in. But you can ensure they stay out of unsafe areas of the room, simply by blocking off the area.
Use the same large baby yard gates to block off the computer/office area if it is in a common room. You definitely don’t want your little one pushing power buttons on the computer on and off, on and off over and over again.
You can also use fireplace gates to portion off smaller areas. Such as the fireplace/mantel area. Or the corner where the family pet likes to sleep in peace. Give your furry family member their own safe space away from the baby.
When Christmas arrives you will want to block off the Tree from the little mobile tornado of destruction. They will pull items off the tree, rip open presents, break ornaments, tip the tree over, or all of the above! The Christmas tree is like a magical light magnet that little babies love to touch. Just block it off with a large baby yard gate to reduce the stress of having to guard it 24/7.
This is how we protect our Christmas Tree from not only our toddler but also our Dog and Cat that would constantly get into the tree and knock it over – thus breaking my cherished Glass German Ornaments. I got a large baby yard gate for our first year in our new home, because I said, NO MORE to broken Christmas ornaments. And it worked like a charm!
With these 5 easy steps, now you know how to baby proof your home in a simple but effective way. No more stressing about making sure every square inch of your home is safe.
Learn more about what you can expect after Baby’s First Steps.
Focus mainly on the areas where your child will spend most of their time, and any room where there will be any time not directly supervised. Save the rest of the home for when you are right there directly supervising the child to keep them out of trouble.
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